Pay raises for CalPERS top brass on deck

Top executives at CalPERS whose base salaries can top $300,000 a year will learn on Tuesday whether they can count on a raise.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System is scheduled to consider giving raises of up to 5 percent to a handful of leaders and fund managers.

The group includes General Counsel Matthew Jacobs, who earns $338,000; and Chief Operating Investment Officer Wylie Tollette, who earns $378,000.

The packages are based in part on a biannual salary survey that showed public pension fund leaders at other organizations had received wage increases of 6 to 7 percent.

“We believe that the proposed adjustments are well within market practice, and will allow for appropriate modest adjustments while CalPERS contemplates implementation of a long-term incentive plan,” wrote the consultant who recommended wage increases for CalPERS executives.

CalPERS, the $323 billion pension fund for retired government workers, tends to offer incentives to senior executives and fund managers that drive up total compensation for its top employees.

For instance, CalPERS Chief Investment Officer Ted Eliopoulos last year earned $768,000 in total compensation. Tollette earned $537,000 in total compensation, according to state records.

The board on Tuesday also is scheduled to vote on an incentive plan for CEO Marcie Frost and Eliopoulos.

Most rank-and-file CalPERS employees will receive a 4 percent wage increase on July 1 through a new contract for their union, Service Employees International Union Local 1000. That agreement included special wage increases for CalPERS actuaries, who gained an additional 15 percent raise this year.

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Editor’s Note: This post was updated at 9:25 a.m. June 20 to remove the name of CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost from the list of executives under consideration for a pay raise.